Introductory class for beginners (4 workshops)

Introductory class for beginners (4 workshops)

Introductory class for beginners (4 workshops)

Introductory class for beginners (4 workshops)

Briefly...

We cover basic photographic techniques, and immediately apply them through practical exercises. We discuss the decisions one must make while shooting. At the end of this course, you’ll be in control of your camera, and it will no longer make the decisions for you. You can begin to create the images that you’ve been wanting to. You’ll stop “taking” photos, because now you’ll have all the tools to “make” a photo.

To get the most out of the experience, please respect the chronological order of the 4 workshops (i.e. take workshop 1 first and workshop 4 last).

* The average price for 4 workshops after the discount, depending on selected dates the price can vary.

We cover basic photographic techniques, and immediately apply them through practical exercises. We discuss the decisions one must make while shooting. At the end of this course, you’ll be in control of your camera, and it will no longer make the decisions for you. You can begin to create the images that you’ve been wanting to.

Class No 1: Camera settings (Beginner level)

Learning to use the manual mode of your reflex or bridge camera is an important step towards taking better pictures.

Operating manuals provided with the camera are monotonous and do not really show all there is to know about the many buttons and parameters available.

Understanding the parameters of the camera and knowing digital photography vocabulary is the first key step. White balance, sensor sensitivity (ISO), RAW format and exposure correction are only examples of terms that will be presented in a clear and concise way during the course.

This workshop will teach you how to:

- Use the right image format between JPEG and RAW

- Adjust the white balance

- Correct the exposure

- Set the ISO on the camera

- Read a histogram

- Use the “P” shooting mode

Class No 2: Aperture and Depth of field (Beginner level)

Depth of field is one of the major aspects of photography. It is defined as a zone of sharpest focus in front of, behind and around the subject of the photograph. Beyond the limits of this area, the elements are rather blurred.

This zone can be adjusted according to three parameters that will be explained in detail during the workshop: the aperture, the focal length and the distance from camera to subject. Playing around with these three parameters can significantly modify the aesthetics of an image!

This is a creative aspect of photography: mastering depth of field will allow you to make great portraits, landscapes, and highlighting a subject in its surrounding environment.

This workshop will teach you how to:

- Use the “A” or “Av” shooting mode

- Make a portrait with a blurry background

- Photograph a landscape with higher sharpness

Class No 3: Shutter speed and movement (Beginner level)

How can movement be captured in photography? Or, on the other hand, how can you freeze the action of a scene?

Managing the exposure time – or the shutter speed – of the camera is the answer to these two questions and is, just like the depth of field, a key parameter in photography.

This parameter allows the light to hit the digital sensor for a defined amount of time, which will freeze or blur a movement.

In this case, you will have once again a wide array of creative possibilities: blur or freeze the action, get a filé (a moving subject is frozen in a blurry surrounding).

This workshop will teach you how to:

- Use the “S” and “Tv” shooting modes
- Make filés of moving subjects
- Freeze the movement of a subject
- Use blur to suggest movement and bring dynamism to your pictures

Class No 4: Light and focus (Beginner level)

A photographer is bound to be able to “read” light and, from that reading, make his or her aesthetic choices for the final image. Understanding light is necessary to express creativity, just like depth of field and shutter speed.

Several metering modes are available on modern digital cameras (matrix, spot or centre-weighted metering) and this workshop will demonstrate the pros and cons of each of them, as well as provide you with practical considerations.

Focusing is intimately linked with light metering in the sense that it functions using the same channels on the camera (the small square or rectangle zones that are visible in the viewer). Focus and light metering need to be mastered and are crucial in order to avoid out-of-focus and badly exposed (too light/too dark) photographs.

This workshop will teach you how to:

- Measure light using the various modes of your camera (spot, centre-weighted or matrix)

- Make photos in backlight conditions

- Have an effective focus range using the viewer's various channels

- Develop a sense of composition from the shooting

Key Details

- This beginner class is part of a pack of 4 workshops (14 hours)

- A summary of the notions covered in this course will be handed out at the end of each session. A “meeting form” with the exact meet-up location will be sent to enrolled participants a few days before class

- Number of hours for this course - 3.30 hours. Depending on the number of students, the course can be completed in 2.30 hours, 3 hours or 3.30 hours. With a very small number of participants, the quality of the class and the time allocated to each one to ask questions allows the course duration to be reduced in order to keep the chosen dates and avoid cancellations. For more information, see our Terms of use page

- The workshop is composed of a theoretical part, practical training and a debriefing.